Claude Makelele Signs Swansea Contract Extension After Dramatic Premier League Turnaround

?Swansea City were exceedingly fortunate to avoid the drop down to the Championship during the 2016-17 Premier League season, after some frantic months at the foot of the table resulted in the Swans finishing just above the relegation zone in 15th place.

Since the club’s unlikely survival, Swansea’s official website confirmed that former Chelsea star Claude Makelele, who earned 71 caps for his country, has been rewarded with a new contract at the Liberty. 

Swansea City v Middlesbrough - Premier League

The Frenchman will continue his work at the Liberty Stadium as one of Paul Clement’s assistants alongside Nigel Gibbs, keeper coach Tony Roberts and head of physical performance Karl Halabi.

Plans for the imminent domestic campaign will become more prominent in the transfer window in the coming months, although the struggling top-flight outfit have already been boosted in the coaching department by the signing of former Chelsea ace Makelele.

Clement was on the coaching staff at the Blues when Makelele was contracted at Stamford Bridge, and the Swans boss believes that the 44-year-old former Real Madrid and Paris St. Germain midfielder was a predominant figure behind the scenes in the Swans’ narrow survival during the season which has just passed.